How Sand King and Witch Doctor perform as teammates in Dota 2 7.41f, from ranked matches.
In Dota 2 7.41f, Sand King and Witch Doctor win 51.28% of ranked matches when playing on the same team, over 25,845 matches.
Setting up a big Death Ward channel often relies on Sand King landing a good Burrowstrike. A well-timed stun can hold enemies in place for Witch Doctor to get his ultimate started, and Sand King's own Epicenter can add to the chaos. The problem is that both heroes want to be the center of attention. Their spells have similar goals but can sometimes clash in practice. If Sand King needs to use Burrowstrike to escape, he can't use it to set up. If Witch Doctor gets targeted, the whole combo falls apart before it begins.
Early on, this pairing can create some kill threat with a stun into Maledict, but it requires careful coordination. In larger fights, their success is a toss-up. A perfect initiation from Sand King can lead to a fight-winning ultimate from Witch Doctor. However, savvy opponents will focus on interrupting channels, separating the two heroes, or simply killing Sand King before he can start the chain. The combo has clear potential, but it's fragile and depends heavily on which team gets the jump first.
How this pairing performs across skill brackets — the duo's team win rate in recent ranked matches, split by average match rank. Ranks with too few recent matches are omitted. These rows use the last 30 days of quality-filtered ranked matches, all patches in that span combined — a wider window than the patch-scoped count above, so the per-rank match totals can exceed it.
| Rank | Team win rate | Matches |
|---|---|---|
| Herald & Guardian | 48.12% | 266 |
| Crusader & Archon | 48.92% | 975 |
| Legend & Ancient | 50.77% | 849 |
| Divine & Immortal | 47.24% | 127 |
This duo's team win rate in each recent balance patch — whether the pairing is trending up or down. Patches without enough matches are omitted.
| Patch | Team win rate | Change | Matches |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7.41f | 51.28% | ▲ +0.1pp | 25,845 |
| 7.41e | 51.14% | ▲ +0.8pp | 89,720 |
| 7.41d | 50.33% | ▲ +1.9pp | 91,115 |
| 7.41c | 48.42% | — | 46,251 |
Move this data into a draft
Both heroes start on Radiant. Fill the remaining slots to test this pairing inside a complete draft and get next-pick recommendations.
Data updated Oct 5, 2026.